Reverse Commute - Costa Mesa to Riverside (San Diego, Santa Ana: apartment complex, rental)

[Bobbruce]

Due to a recent job change, my wife and I are relocating from San Diego (where we just moved recently from the Midwest) to Orange County. She will be working in Riverside and I will be Telecommuting.

Without wasting too much time, I'll get down to it. We want to be close to the coast like every else. We thought Costa Mesa could possibly be a good compromise, especially with my wife doing a reverse commute to the West Riverside (Pedley) area. Could she consistently make it in one-hour commutes each way? Looking at Sigalert, if she left early, the traffic doesn't seem that terrible as long as she commutes east in the morning and of course west back.

Can anyone provide some personal experience with this and if you don't feel it is reasonable, offer alternatives for a better commute from Orange County? (No Toll Roads Please)

Bob

[BRinSM]

that's a long drive even without traffic, i wouldn't want to do it, but that's just me. depending on what you're looking for in a neighborhood (besides easy coastal access), there may be better options that are not as far from your wife's office.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Live by the beach. Be too tired from commuting to enjoy it!

[Bobbruce]

Well, we are both in our late 20's with no kids (and never will) and a dog. We love the outdoors, so parks, trails and beaches are important to us. We live simply, but will have a combined income around 100k. Just a 1 Bedroom in a nice (preferably walkable) area area with this criteria and we'd be happy.

Of course weather is a concern and the further inland you go of course those temps always go up...

[EscapeCalifornia]

Costa Mesa is pretty much all concrete. You'd still have to drive somewhere to get to the beach and/or trails.

[Bobbruce]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Costa Mesa is pretty much all concrete. You'd still have to drive somewhere to get to the beach and/or trails.

Any thoughts on alternatives in OC within an hour of Riverside that fit our criteria?

[EscapeCalifornia]

Well the first thing to decide is how important the beach is. The beaches are all far from Riverside. But there's parks and trails all over the place. Some place like the north end of Tustin would put you close to Peters Canyon and Irvine Regional Park. Farther north, Yorba Linda has a couple of parks along the river and access to Chino Hills State Park on the north end. All of those are much closer to work than Costa Mesa but they'll be warmer in the summer. OC isn't really a walkable place except for a few small areas that people drive to get to, then drive home from. The more walkable places tend to be places you don't really want to walk anyway, like Santa Ana.

[Bobbruce]

Does Yorba Linda have a reasonable amount of rental property for 1BR places like we are seeking? I am concerned about the weather there, but it seems like a nice area. However, in looking for a place, i tend to find more Mc Mansions for rent there than smaller apartments.

Also, we only plan to be where ever we land for about a year, so we would like to enjoy the surroundings as much as possible before moving back to San Diego. So beach isn't required, we'll get that in SD, but certainly temperature, safety and parks are big on the list.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by Bobbruce

Does Yorba Linda have a reasonable amount of rental property for 1BR places like we are seeking?

I have seen apartments on condos there. Not sure which they were though. Have a look on Craigslist and see if anything comes up. Maybe you could rent a privately owned condo if you can't find a mega apartment complex. Just across the 91 is Anaheim Hills which might have more apartment options.

[Bobbruce]

Ok, many thanks for your help on this Escape, I appreciate the input.

Anyone else with any thoughts? Perhaps an agency in North OC for finding rental property?